Sole treating machine



Dec. 16, 1941. w. w. PRUE. 2,266,127

SOLE TREATING MACHINE Filed July 12, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 //V vzA/Tm m PM Dec. 16, 1941. w, w. PRUE I 2,266,127

SOLE TREATING MACHINE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 12, 1940 Patented Dec. 16, 1941 .IUNIITED STATE SOLE TREATING MACHINE Walter W." Prue, Auburn, Maine, assignor to' i United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Borough of Flemington, N. J.', a corporation of New Jersey Application July 12,1940, Serial No. 345,199, r

12 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in ma chines for treating peripheral portions of shoes, the soles of which are to be attached by means of cement. It is herein illustrated as embodied in a machine for applying a band of cement to the attaching face of a sole and for chamfering the peripheral corner of the sole atthe same tii'ne. In the preparation of soles for shoes'inwhich thesole's are to be attached by means of cement, it is common to-prepare the soles .by roughing the margins of the ffleshosurfaces thereof sothat a firm bond is obtained between the cement and the sole. It is also customary to chamfer the soles, removing a small portion at the corner .of the periphery of the flesh surface of the sole and then, on another machine, to apply a marginal band of cement to this fiesh surface','thus requiring three separate handlings of the ,sole. The. chamfering operation is frequently desirable because of the imperfect application of the band of cement which has been spread too close to theperipheral edge, thereby leaving some exce'ss cement which will harden and will be exposed in the finished shoe. It has also been found that the roughing operation tends to draw some of the fibres of the leather beyond the outline of the periphery, and this is especially noticeable when poorer grades of stock, which are particularly loose-fibred, are employedl' In .view of this, an important object of'the' invention is to provide a machine for concurrently chamfering the sole and applying a marginal band of cement to the flat'. surface thereof, thereby eliminating one handling of the sole.

To enable these operations to be carried out together, my novel machine, in accordance with features of the invention, provides a chamfering knife which is mounted closely adjacent to the gage of a treating machine which may also apply the band of cement; thereby insuringa continuing and exact relation between the chamfering cut and the-position of the cement. The-illus trate'd machine embodies a sole-feeding mechanism which utilizes spaced gages and a cross feed operative upon the flat surfaces of the sole and arranged continually to hold the periphery of the'sole in contact with both gages, thereby rendering the feeding of the sole substantially automatic. Y

In the application of a band of cement to a sole with its combination of concave and convex curvatures, as the band is applied around the periphery of the sole it has been found important, in order to have the band of cement of uniform width, to have the cement-applying device, which may be a nozzle, located closely adjacent to the gage which is encountered last. Since the chamfering knife on my machine is located closely adjacent to this last-encountered gage,

the relation of the cut to the band of cement is kept uniform. a

A machine of this type must be capable of treating soles of variousthicknesses and, indeed,

of. treating soles various portions of the pee-- riphery of which are of different thickness. AC? cordingly, another feature of the invention resides in a self-adjusting chamfering. knife which is mounted for movement heightwise of the sole and.which, in the illustrated machine, is tiltable about an axis substantially parallel to the line of'feed.

. This'chamfering device is herein illustrated as comprising a sharp-edged knife extending diagonally across the corner of the sole and mounted upon artiltable carrier. The relation of the knife to the sole is maintained, as the thickness of the sole varies, by means 'of a holddown which is mounted on the tiltable knife carrier and which engages the upperv surface of the sole, thereby to maintain uniform depth of cut. The chamfering device may be'used without the cementingmechanism, if desired. I a

.Still another feature of the invention resides in a chip deflector for carrying refuse, material awayfrom thefreshl'yapplied band of cement.

This deflector, in the illustrated machine, is movable with and is shown as'also mounted onthe tiltable knife carrier and carries the chip to one side so that it drops below the sole being treated without having a chance to stick in-the cement.

These and other features of the invention will be best understood from a consideration of the following description taken in connection with the accompanying'drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the work-engaging portion of the machine;'

Fig. 2 is a detail View, on a larger scale, look ing at the end of the last-encountered gage and showing the chamfering knife and associated parts in up-tilted position adjacent to said gage as if they were raised by a piece of work;

Fig; 3 is a plan view of the work table, gages, and chamfering knife and showing a section through a coating nozzle as it applies cement to a sole;

Fig. 4 is a detail side elevation, on a larger scale, of the knife carrier; and

Fig. is a side elevation showing this carrier mounted in place on the gage block.

A chamfering knife I6 is herein shown as mounted upon a machine of the type illustrated in Letters Patent of the United States No. 2,073,647, granted March 16, 1937, upon the application of C. A. Newhall. That machine is ar ranged for the application of a band of cement of uniform width upon the attaching or flesh surface of a sole S and, as will later appear, em-- bodies feed mechanism for substantially automatically presenting the sole to a cement-2.1%

plying nozzle I2 provided with a resilientspreader I3 which is held in place by a clamp I5. As in the patented machine, cement is supplied un der pressure to this nozzle through a flexible pipe I4 and extruded through outlet openings 1 I in the nozzle, and the starting and stopping of the flow of cement is determined by a valve, I6 arranged to be turned when the operator depresses a treadle (not shown) attached to a treadle rod I8. The nozzle itself is supportedfor upward yielding movement upon a bracket 29 which is pivoted at 22 on an arm 24 extending laterally from the frame 25 of the machine, and in this arm there is journaled a shaft carrying an upper feed roll 28 arranged to be positively driven through a gear 39. A work-supporting table 32 and a driven supporting and feed wheel 34 are mounted upon a shaft journaled in an arm 36 which is tiltable about an axis 38, and the feed wheel is raised to lift the sole into engagement with the" feed wheel 28 and the nozzle l2 whenever the operator depresses thetreadle rod I8. This operates through a spring to depress a forked tail 46 on the pivoted arm 36. The machine is also provided with another supporting wheel 42 which is held yieldably upward to its predetermined position and may be deflected downwardly when a reduced shank portion of the sole is presented to the nozzle.

The work-supporting table 32 is adjustably secured to the arm 36 and has a depending lug 44 (Fig. 5) which is slotted so that the table may be moved up and down and clamped in the desired position upon the arm by means of a screw 46. It will be seen from Figs. 3 and. 5 that this table has spaced beveled portions 48 underlying the margin of the sole and that between these portions'the sole rests upon the upper periphery of d the lower feed wheel 34. On this table there are mounted a pair of spaced gages 50 and 52 which are positioned obli'quely'with respect to the parallel planes of the end surfaces of the feed wheels 28'and 34, thereby producing a cross-feed, one component of which moves the periphery of the sole forward in the direction of the line of feed, as indicated by the arrow in Fig. 3, and the other component of which holds the sole firmly against the two gages. The extent of this cross-feed action may be controlled by adjusting the posi tion of the first-encountered gage 58in a direction parallel to the axis of the feed wheel 34. This may be done by loosening a clamp screw 54 (Figs. 1 and 3) which holds the gage 50 on the table 32.

The work-contacting end. surface of the gage 52 is formed at the end of an upright plate the upper portion 58 of which is reduced in thickness and has side surfaces approximately normal to its end surface. The gage is also provided with an obliquely positioned depending flange 68 which is grooved to fit over a rib on the side of the arm 36 and is adjustable lengthwise of that arm by means of a slot-and-scr'ew arrangement 62 (Figs. 3 and 5). The body of the gage is also provided with an arm 64 in which there is a hole to receive a pivot screw 66 for a knife carrier 68.

The arm 64 is generally parallel to, but is offset from, the body of the gage (Fig. 3) and is spaced from the thing upper portion 58 by a recess 69 (Fig. 5). The carrier 68- extends through this recess 69. The chamfering knife I0 is clamped against the side face of this carrier 68 by means of a plate III which has a groove to receive the body of the knife and which is held firmly on the carrier 68 by means of a clamp screw I2. The extent of downward movement of the knife is limited by a stop screw I4 in a thickened portion of the carrier and which engages a portion of the body of the gage at the bottom of the recess 69 when there is no work in the machine.

on the knife carrier is a holddown 88 which overlies the upper face of the sole S and is held resiliently in contact therewith by means of a spring 82 stretched between a depending end 84 of the arm 64 and a portion 86 of the carrier 68. The holddown 88, therefore, serves two functions, first of making sure that the sole rests firmly on the work-supporting table 32 and, second, thatthe knife I0 is moved heightwise of the sale so that it will make a uniform cut, regardless of the thickness of the sole at the particular point at which the knife is working. This holddown, the end portion of which extends around the end of the gage, is formed as an integral part of the end portion 88 of the knife carrier 68, and inasmuch as thiscarrier portion 88 lies alongside and closely adjacent to the side surface of the thin wall 58 of the gage, while the knife I6 lies closely adjacent to, the other face of that wall, there is little opportunity for deflection of the knife or the holddown by reason of the drag of the Work. The gage 52 has a thickened portion 98 (Fig. 2) immediately below this carrier portion 88.

It is desirable that the chip 92 removed by the chamfering knife shall not become embedded in the fresh cement 94, and for this reason the machine is provided with a chip deflector 96 which is mounted on the knife carrier 68 by means of a dowel pin 98 and a clamp screw I 80. This chip deflector is curved inwardly and downwardly with respect to the sole and lies at its lower end just beyond the upwardly tilted end portion I02 of the knife I8. This portion I02 of the knife has a sharp edge I64, and the chip 92 rides over the top of the knife and through the inner passage of the chip deflector 96 from which it can fall to the floor without getting into the cement.

In the use of the machine, soles S are presented to the gages and 52, and starting at the heel end of the sole on one side a stripe of cement 94 is applied around a large part of the periphery of the attaching surface or flesh face of the sole. The feed wheels 28 and 34 grip the sole and cause it to be carried substantially automatically in the direction of the line of feed. During this movement the chip 92 is cut from the sole, leaving a chamfered portion II8 closely adjacent to the band of cement, thus cutting away any sharp edge or frayed edge of the leather and, if necessary, removing any cement which might otherwise reach the exposed periphery of the sole which will show in the finished shoe. The chamfering device is tilted automatically in accordance with the thickness of the portion of the sole being treated.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a sole-treating machine, spaced gages, a sole-feeding mechanism constructed and arranged to hold the periphery of the sole in contact with said gages, and a chamfering device mounted for yielding movement heightwise of the sole independently of the heightwise movements of work-engaging portions of said feeding mechanism as the sole thickness varies, said chamfering device being positioned adjacent to the gage which is contacted last as successive portions of the periphery of the sole are carried past said gage.

2. In a sole-treating machine, a work support, feeding mechanism, a gage plate having side surfaces approximately normal to its end surface, a chamfering device self-adjustable heightwise of the sole, and a holddown, said chamfering device and holddown being mounted close to and extending alongside opposite side surfaces of said gage for support thereby against lateral deflection.

3. In a sole-treating machine, a work support, a gage, means rotatable about an axis for feeding the periphery of the sole along a line of feed forming an acute angle with said axis and holding it in contact with said gage, and a chamfering device tiltable about an axis substantially parallel to the line of feed as determined by said feeding device.

4. In a sole-treating machine, mechanism for feeding a sole along a line of feed, a gage member including a wall substantially normal to the line of feed, and a chamfering device mounted on said gage member and tiltable about an axis substantially normal to said Wall.

5. In a sole-treating machine, a gage having a work-engaging end surface and having side surfaces extending away from said end surface, solefeeding mechanism for carrying successive portions of the periphery of the sole past said gage, a carrier having a portion extending alongside and close to a side surface of said gage and mounted for'movement heightwise of the sole, and both a chamfering device and a holddown mounted on and movable with said carrier, said holddown extending around the end of said ga e to a point immediately adjacent to the chamfering device and over the upper surface of the sole thereby to determine the heightwise position of the chamfering device.

6. In a sole-treating machine, a gage, feeding means for carrying the periphery of the sole past said gage, a carrier mounted for movement heightwise of the sole, and both a chamfering knife and a chip deflector movable with said carrier, said chip deflector being arranged to guide the chips away from the work.

7. In a sole-treating machine, a gage, feeding mechanism for carrying successive portions of the periphery of the sole past said gage, a carrier mounted for movement heightwise of the sole, and a chamfering knife, a holddown, and a chip deflector mounted on said carrier.

8. In a sole-treating machine, a gage, a solefeeding mechanism for presenting successive portions of the periphery of the sole to said gage, means for applying cement to the margin ofthe fiat surface of the sole, and a chamfering device acting concurrently with said cementing means to remove acorner of the periphery of the sole adjacent to said band of cement.

9. In a sole-treating machine, a gage, solefeeding mechanism for presenting successive portions of the periphery of the sole to said gage, means for applying cement to the margin of the flat surface of the sole, a chamfering device acting concurrently with said cementing means to remove a corner of the periphery of the sole adjacent to said band of cement, and means for controlling the depth of the cut produced by said chamfering device.

10. In a sole-treating machine, a cement-applying nozzle arranged to apply a band of cement around the margin of one flat face'of the sole, a

sole feeding and guiding mechanism constructed and arranged to present successive portions of theperiphery of the sole to said nozzle and to produce a cement band of substantially uniform width, and means for chamfering a peripheral corner of the sole constructed and arranged to make a uniform cut adjacent to the band of cement. I

11. In a sole-treating machine, a cementing device for applying a band of cement around the margin of one flat face of a sole, a chamfering device acting concurrently to remove a corner of the periphery of the sole adjacent to the marginal band of cement, and a chip deflector cooperating with said chamfering device to guide the refuse material away from the fresh cement. 12. In a sole-treating machine, spaced gages against which successive portions of the edge of a sole may be presented, a feeding mechanism engaging the upper and lower surfaces of the sole and arranged to produce a cross-feed to hold the sole against said gages, a nozzle for applying cement to the upper face of the sole and disposed with one end of the nozzle adjacent to the lastencountered gage, and a self-adjusting chamfering knife closely adjacent to said gage for removing a uniform chip of material from the corner of the periphery of the sole.

WALTER W. PRUE. 

